Núlì de Nǚrén
by Aeirwen
Summary: She ran away from home with no proof of her identity but a simple silver collar. ...a Miao woman embarks on her life to... I can't think of a good summary for this. I'm still writing as I go along. Thank you for reading.
1. Miao

Núlì de Nǚrén

Chapter 1

Miao

* * *

"No, please! Don't hurt him!" A young girl with a dirty face immediately ran over to her kneeling father and stood in front of him, looking up to red armored general, pleading in Chinese. "Please understand, there has been no rainfall for months! Even our village is suffering from famine!"

"Insolent wench!" She whimpered and cried when the general backhanded her, leaving a stinging sensation on her face. "How dare a woman, let alone a _slave_ woman, talk at me."

He was about to slap her once more until another man stopped him. "Now, now, don't be too rough on her. After all, for a Miao, she has a very pretty face." He squatted down in front of her and got a hold of her chin, inspecting her face. He stared into her eyes and smiled deviously. "I've never seen a Miao with such light colored eyes." She frowned at him before shaking her head out of his grasp, only to have her arm pulled by him. "How about I relieve you of being a slave and consider being my comfort woman instead?" She bit her lips, staring hard at him, trying to be brave and dared not to shed a tear. "You already know that defying me or any of us men of the Han is a serious offense for a Miao."

"Please don't, she's only a stupid child!" Her father pulled her back and pleaded to the officer. "She doesn't know anything!"

"Shut up, old man!" He glared angrily at the girl's father and punch him down before pulling the girl along with him, dragging her away as the other general had him detained and sent away.

"Father!" She called to him as she reached for him, crying, struggling against the strength of the Chinese man. "Father!" Her tears ran down her dirty face, blurring her vision.

"Npaim!" She could hear her father's old voice calling to her, "Npauj Npaim!"  
(Pronunciation and translation at the end.)

"Father!" She called in her native language.

* * *

Footsteps approached the private quarters and doors were pulled open for the lord of the domain. Servants bowed as he approached. As he made his way, he untied and pulled off his hat and set it down on a small table as eunuchs closed the door behind him. He smiled to young slave girl who stood up and backed away from him as he began to strip himself of his tunic, revealing his muscled torso.

He chuckled under his breath, staring her down from head to toe. The servant girls cleaned her up well and dressed her up nicely to his taste. She kept her guard up and tried to close herself as he approached and laid his hands on her shoulders gently. "Normally, I'd prefer the woman to undress me, but I think you're too innocent for that." He pulled her into his arms and took in her scent. She must've been bathed in a bath of roses for her to smell so sweet. Softly and slowly, he licked her ear before whispering, "let me take that innocence away from you," before playfully biting her ear, making her whimper quietly and shudder. He laughed at her. "Let me hear more of that sweet voice of yours." He then grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed before getting on and straddling her down and ripping her new clothes apart.

Her screams and cries and moans, mixed with his, echoed throughout the halls of the estate as servants walked about and returned to their own quarters, minding their own business.

Within the moonlight, as the cool breeze blew into the room where she lost her dignity to a Chinese man, her newly cleaned collar glimmered and shined as it sat on the bedside table. The symbol of her slavery may be clean and shiny, but she, herself, felt dirty and unclean more than ever before.

* * *

Horses neighed and chased after her as she ran through the tall yellow grass as quickly as she could. Despite the pain in the lower half of her body, despite all the aching and soreness she felt throughout her whole body, she ran back towards her home village. Villagers came out of their straw huts to see what could be causing such noise early in the morning. The head of the village came out and stood in front of everyone as Npauj Npaim fell to her knees in front of him.

"Father…!" She sniffled and stared up at the head of the villagers with tears in her eyes, holding her tattered clothes together.

He only stared at her in shock and a mixture of anger and sorrow. "You dare come back?" Npaim stared up to her father in shock as he held himself back before slapping her. "Have you no shame of yourself? You come back to shame me?" Her lips trembled as she stared up at her father, already knowing what kind of reaction she'd get from him, but held hope in her arms that her father would welcome her back in open arms instead. This was the father she loved so much, who she worked hard in the rice fields with each and every day. He was the father who told her to eat all she could so she would have the strength to carry on the next day, so that she could grow big and strong. "I have no whore for a daughter." He spat on her and she stared down at his feet, too heartbroken to look up at her father's disapproving eyes. Tears began to blur her vision as her breath quivered and shook unevenly. "You are no longer my daughter. You are nothing but a humiliation."

She gasped and her breath got caught in her throat as she looked up to her father as the villagers began quickly whispering to one another. It was as though her heart stopped and the ringing in her ears wouldn't stop. It felt as though there was a tight grasp on her heart, squeezing it and trying to make it explode. All noises around her were muffled out as she stared out at nothing in disbelief while her father kicked her away and attempted to drive her away. She knew she would be turned away, but she didn't know it would hurt this much.

Horses slowed to a stop and her so called father and the rest of the villagers took a step back. "Back off!" The officer pulled out a long sword and pointed it to the head of the village and glared. "How dare you mistreat my treasure?" The lord pulled the young girl up into his arms and looked down at her to check the damage before glaring back at the Miao man. "I should have your head for that, be thankful that I spare you for creating such a beautiful 'Butterfly Flower'." He smirked before glaring in anger. "I expect an extra hundred bags of rice by the next time I send my men to collect."

The villagers all gasped and panicked as the lord got up on his horse and pulled up the Miao girl into his arms before riding off back to his domain.

* * *

"You knew your father wouldn't welcome you back, why did you leave me?" When they got back to the estate, she was given a bath and new clothes and spent the day with the lord who took her away from her village. At this moment now, they were riding together in a field of greens that bloomed tiny yellow flowers. The sun shimmered down on them and a summer breeze blew past them, moving the field. He was teaching her how to ride a horse, holding onto her and the reins from behind her. He held her close and couldn't help but run his nose along her pale skin. Something glittered from the sunlight and caught his attention. His fingers brushed against it, pulling her attention down to it as well. "Why do you still wear this?" He sat back up and smirked, running his fingers across the back of her neck before unclasping the slave collar, taking it off and inspecting it with her. "You're no longer a slave." He planted a soft kiss on her neck as he let go of the reins for her and wrapped his arms around her waist instead. "You're my comfort woman now," he chuckled. "Despite being a Miao woman, I want to plant each and every one of my seeds inside your womb," he whispered into her ear as his left hand went down to squeeze her thigh and his right hand rubbed against her abdominal.

She only sat there with dull eyes, giving him no reaction as he aroused himself with her. She could feel his breath breathing against her as he couldn't keep his hands and face to himself. He rubbed his body against her, gasping lightly to the pure ecstasy of just imagining her beneath him, grasping her the inner side of her thigh and her perky bosoms. Despite his foreplay, she did nothing, she didn't even react to such pleasure, even when he pulled her robed down and ran his tongue up her back. She felt nothing.

Even the sound of her clothes being torn apart did not move her. "I want you right now," he whispered breathily into her ear.

* * *

He pushed Npaim onto her back on the bed as doors shut behind them. He quickly pounced on her. The sound of her hair ornaments chimed as they began to loosen and fall out of her hair as she stared up at the man who held her against her will. He already couldn't wait and pushed up the soft skirts of her robe and inserted himself inside her before moving. He began to tear her clothes apart more, exposing herself to him before he leaned down to taste her soft skin. He began his attempt to untie her robes that wouldn't rip open only to grunt in irritation, pushing himself in her roughly, and pulled out a small knife. He cut the ties off quickly and decided to cut up her robes open instead, laughing as he leaned down to kiss her pink lips.

He slowed down and smiled, having an idea in his head before laying the blade of the knife against Npaim's face, making her open her eyes wide at him. "There's my little butterfly." He smiled at her. "I don't like it when a woman doesn't react well when I penetrate her body." She stared in shock at him as the tip of the dagger ran down her face. "I want to hear your sweet screams escape those lips of yours." He smirked deviously as the dagger made its way to her lips. She stared at him quietly in his eyes with her light ones before surprising him. She breathed out slowly as she licked his dagger with the tip of her tongue.

She slowly sat up and pushed him down on his back, holding onto his wrist as she licked the knife with her tongue slowly and softly, keeping eye contact with him. Aroused by this, he thrust his hips up and made her cry femininely before she moved with him, whimpering in pleasure. As their tightening hearts raced together, she pulled the knife away from him and began cutting loose the ties that held his clothes together and pulled his robes apart. Her bare skin brushed across his and they both made indulgent noises of lust.

Beads of sweat began to collect on their skin as their body heated up and attempted to cool off. Not even the night breeze could help them feel less hot.

Npauj Npaim stared down at the officer, feeling tired of riding him. She could see that he's already lost all sense to the sheer pleasure they were both experiencing. And though this felt so good to her, she couldn't help but feel hatred for him more. She hated this man, she hated the Han. There was nothing more that she could feel. In between breaths, she stared and watched him before holding up the dagger and stabbing him in the heart as she continued moving on him. She listened to him scream in pain and shock and stabbed him again multiple times before he could do anything to stop her. All his cries and screams of pain sounded throughout the estate, waking up the servants and anyone else who lived there, but those noises were mistaken from screams and cries of pleasure and bliss.

He died ejaculating into her as she whimpered a little before getting off of him and his dead and bloody body. She breathed in softly to slow down her heart rate, drenched in his blood before walking away and dropping the dagger. She collected some of the clothes he kept for her and left his quarters, walking bare with a trail of bloody foot steps behind her towards the bathing area, drawing a hot bath for herself and soaking in it.

* * *

In the early morning, the head of the villagers woke up, startled to the sound of rummaging through his house. He sat up as the thief opened the bamboo and straw door and ran out before following after her. "Npauj Npaim!" The thief stopped and turned around as the cool breeze blew through her long dark locks and made her robes flutter. The sound of her name woke up villagers who were barely waking up to the dawn to prepare for work. Everyone stared at her as she only stared at them nonchalantly. She held up her silver collar before tossing it to the feet of her former father and held another one in her hand. She turned her back to the village she once called home and mounted a brown horse before riding off. "Npauj Npaim!" She didn't even look back to see that her father chased after her with her collar. She was already disowned from her clan, she had no family left, only herself.

As I rode away from what I used to call home, I looked down to the simple silver collar in my hands. This was my mother's…

* * *

Hello! So I'd thought I'd explain a few things.

Long ago, there was an oppression of Hmong people in China, they also existed during the period of the Han Dynasty and were practically slaves. A lot of them would've fled down to what is now Southeast Asia, so if any of you guys know Hmong people, they're probably, most likely, from Thailand or Laos. The Chinese term for Hmong people is Miao. To symbolize who was a slave, the Miao would wear silver collars, or silver colored collars?, to symbolize who was who's slave.

Hawj Npauj Npaim is the name of my main character and she is a Miao woman. The way to pronounce her name is "BAoh mBAI". The pitch of saying "Npauj" is high-low and "Npaim" is flat. The Hmong language is a tonal language. The meaning of "Npauj Npaim" is "butterfly". "Hawj" is her clan name, you'd actually consider this a surname. The English way of pronouncing "Hawj" is liker "Her", but softer.

If you have any more questions, please send me a message and I'll be happy to answer them to my best ability.

Remember, this is only a fanfiction. :) I'd thought I'd add other ethnicity as well. Thank you for reading.


	2. Butterfly

Núlì de Nǚrén

Chapter 2

Butterfly

* * *

I had no idea what direction I had headed, all I knew was that I didn't want to be there anymore, where all my horrible memories were made. There was news that a lord near my village was viciously murdered one night and the suspects were a village of Miao slaves who worked in the rice farms. Because no one owned up to the murder, all the men were slaughtered and the women and children were burn down with the rest of the village. I hear the village and everything there was now practically abandoned. If only I could have left my memories behind to burn down with them.

A month after my incident with the lord that I killed, I met a boy in another city that I had traveled to and lost my horse in. I was hungry and starving, so when his father left him alone at a table, I took his meat buns and ran off only to be chased down by him.

"A girl, being a thief, you must have been out of your mind to think that you could outrun me." I looked up from the ground at him, as I laid, sprawled, after tripping over a barrel of hay. I only frowned at him and glared, saying nothing. He opened his eyes wide in surprise when my eyes traveled over to the meat buns, dirtied from the dirt ground, and looked back up at him. My stomach growled noisily and his face pursed a little before he chuckled lightly and held a hand out to me. "Hey, don't cry. I didn't mean to sound so mean. I mean, after all, you stole my meat buns that my father bought for me and took off with them! Here, come on. I'll ask my father to buy some food for you too." He smiled kindly at me. It was the first time a Chinese person, let alone boy, was kind to me.

He walked me all the way back to the restaurant, where he left his father searching for him, with our arms linked together. Because I lived in such a small and dirty village, I've actually never seen such an attractive person before, but at that time, I didn't know what that feeling was. The lord who took me with him, that I killed, wasn't that terrible looking either, but just thinking about a man touching me… I can't even! I'm already panicking at the thought!

But this boy was so kind and gentle; it was different because I was actually a slave. Did he not know that? I looked down to my chest. I wasn't wearing a silver slave collar.

"Baba! I caught this girl stealing the meat buns!" He seemed so lively as he pulled me over to the grown man who towered above me. I gasped and quickly hid myself behind the boy, keeping my eyes away from him. "Hey, don't be scared, I said it was alright." He was speaking Chinese to me. Either that was the only language he spoke, or he didn't know I was a Miao. He took my hand in his to comfort me. I looked up to him and he flashed me quite a charming smile before looking back up to his father. "I think she got lost, she's hungry! I know because I actually heard her stomach growl loudly like a tiger's roar! I didn't know a girl's stomach can growl too!"

"Really now?" The boy's father laughed out loud before leaning down to question me. "What's your name?" From his close proximity, even with the boy between us, I panicked and began to cry, causing people to stare and the man and boy before me to panic. My heart was racing and it felt like it was being squeezed at the same time. I was afraid. I was afraid he was going to drag me to his house and undress me. "No, no! Don't cry! Don't cry! Here, sit down, I'll get you some food. It'll be alright, after we eat, I'll help you find your parents. Tong, take care of her, alright? And treat her gently?"

"Yes, Father!" As soon as the man left, the boy sat me down at a table and sat beside me, staring at me and inspecting me out of curiosity. "How old are you really?" I only stared at him quietly, wiping my tears away. "Oh! Your eyes are so light!" I frowned at him, not sure how to respond until he gave me a charming smile. "They're very pretty." I couldn't understand the feelings I felt when he smiled at me like that. It felt weird and unpleasant so I tried my best to ignore it no matter how irritating it was. But honestly though, he really did talk too much. "Why's you're face so dirty? Do you fall down a lot? You tripped on nothing three times when I was chasing you." Why won't he stop talking? "How come you're not answering my questions? Are you deaf? Are you mute?"

"Alright, food will be here in a few minutes, so eat all you can so that you can grow big and strong!" The old man came back with a smile and sat across from the boy at the square table. I still felt uncomfortable, but I suppose that because he was sitting there, I felt a bit more relieved. He looked over to me and smiled kindly. I did my best to remain calm, but when he leaned over, my breath quickened and I was beginning to hyperventilate. He noticed this and stared surprised before sitting back up so he wouldn't be so close to me. "Are you alright, young miss?"

I wasn't sure what to say, or if I had the courage to speak, so I just shrugged at him.

"Ah! At least we now know you're not deaf."

"Tong!" The boy was scolding as he sat back in his seat properly.

"What?!"

I only sat there and watched the two interact freely with each other, arguing to one another.

The old man looked back to me and smiled kindly. "Where did you lose your parents? After we eat, we'll help you find them." I only stared at him, thinking hard in my head before staring down and shaking my head. "Oh? Did you run away? That's no good for a filial daughter." I frowned a little and stared back up at him hard. "It's especially dangerous for a young woman to runaway too." I frowned even more and whimpered a little. "I don't mean to reprimand you, but your parents must be worried." I began to pout and shake my head. "I'm sure your parents are worried, they're probably looking for you right now."

I stared at the man sadly before looking down. "I don't have a family…"

"Oh! So you can talk!"

"Tong!"

"What?" The boy laid a hand on mine, making me flinch a little. "Hey, you can be a part of my family." This shocked his father. "My mother always wanted a daughter, and! You're very pretty."

His father smiled kindly, "I'm sure that that can be arranged, if that is alright with you. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, pardon my manners. I am Ling Cao, but if you're willing to become my daughter, you're more than welcome to call me 'Father'."

"And I'm Ling Tong! You can call me 'Tong'." The boy smiled to me before frowning. "But you can't give my any silly nicknames like 'Tongy' or 'Lingy Tongy' or 'Ting Tong', got that?"

I only stared a little before blinking and nodded my head quiet.

"Young miss, what's your name then?" I looked back up to the man and thought for a moment. Did this know I was a Miao? But if they knew I was, then they'd surely know that I'm a slave and would try and return me or sell me so I can't tell them my name…

"Húdié…" I spoke quietly and stared down at the table.

"Húdié?"

"How pretty." I looked up to the man and boy as they smiled at me and stared back down, not sure how to respond. I've never been treated so kindly by the Chinese before. "Oh, look. Food's here! Húdié, eat as much as you can so that you can grow up big and strong, alright?" I stared up sadly at Ling Cao, remembering my own father, and bested a weak smile before eating timidly with them.

* * *

"Dear, wife! Look what I brought home." We all entered the man and the boy's home and I stood and watched as Ling Tong immediately began taking off his shoes and putting them away neatly.

"Welcome back, what did you bring?"

A woman came out from around the corner of the hall and stared at me surprised. "This is our new daughter, Hudie. Hudie, this is my wife, and your new mother, Lei Ling."

"Well, what a pleasant surprise." The woman smiled hesitantly before reaching a hand to me. "Welcome home." I stared at her shyly before taking off my shoes. I looked down at my dirty feet before looking back at the woman and shook my head. "Oh, it's alright. What's a house if it doesn't get dirty once in a while." She smiled and grabbed my hand before pulling me further into the house. "I'll draw you a bath."

"Mom! I want a bath too!" Ling Tong immediately jumped up and followed until his mother scolded him.

"Have you no shame? You'll have to wait, Hudie is bathing first." I was lead outside by Lei Ling to a connected bath house. "Don't you dare invade a woman's privacy."

"But she's no woman! She's just a girl!"

"Someday, she'll become a woman."

Tong continued whining and complaining about how tired and sweaty he was from the day and eventually gave up and turned away. Lei Ling was left waiting for me to finish and I could hear Ling Cao come to talk to her.

"Why did you bring a girl here?"

"I didn't plan to bring her here, it was Tong's idea."

"Tong's idea? You know that any idea from young boys is a bad idea."

"That may almost always be right, but he wasn't only considering her, he was considering you too. Surely you feel lonely since we haven't been able to conceive a daughter."

"Hmm, I suppose."

"Besides, the girl claims she has no family, that's not uncommon."

"But can we trust her?"

"I doubt she'd be any trouble, besides, she's terrified of me. If my suspicions are correct, then I can't leave that girl out there unsheltered. Men these days are like hyenas."

"That is true too."

"Please take Hudie out shopping tomorrow. We'll consider her living arrangements tomorrow as well. For now, she'll just have to share a bed with Tong."

"But wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

"Lei Ling! Tong is smart, but I don't think he even knows lustful impulses yet."

"As long as she doesn't tempt him, is all."

"This is coming from a man, but just looking at you is enough to tempt me."

"Ling Cao!" She laughed quietly, "There's a child in the bathhouse, she could be listening!"

* * *

"Tomorrow, Mother is going to take Hudie out to buy clothes and toys for her. Would you like that, Hudie?" I stared up at Ling Cao as I sat at the square dinner table beside Ling Tong.

Lei Ling smiled kindly to me as she set the table with food, "I want to make sure my beautiful Hudie is dressed just a prettily." We're they seriously going to act like they're my parents?

"I want to go too, Mother!" Ling Tong immediately began reaching for food with his stick like utensils.

"Xiao Tong, wait!" Lei Ling scolded him as she slapped his hand with her own sticks. "Your father starts first, remember. After all these years of teaching you!" She sighed in exasperation before she began to serve me. "But for tonight, Xiao Hudie starts first. Hudie, welcome home." She smiled kindly at me before sitting down.

"Alright, alright, just don't call me Xiao Tong anymore!" Ling Tong frowned as he sat back down. "I'm a grown man already."

"Twelve years old, you're no grown man yet, Xiao Tong!"

"Hey!"

"Alright, alright! Enough from you, Tong." Ling Cao waved them down. "Do not argue back with your mother. Let's eat."

They all told me not to eat shyly, but I just sat there for a while and watched them eat. It wasn't because I wasn't hungry, I just…didn't know what to do as I watched them used sticks to pick things up. I've never actually used sticks to eat food before. Back in my village, we usually used our hands, we were lucky if we found a spoon. When I picked up the sticks, everyone was surprised when they kept falling out of my hands. I learned that they were called chopsticks and Tong personally taught me how to hold them. That night, I learned a lot about their family, but I didn't let them learn much from me. Only how different I was from them.

It was different, eating here, because all I really ate back in my old village was rice. Having rice in water with a banana would be a rare occasional treat that my 'father' and I shared. At this dinner table, there was meat and vegetables, and after dinner, we had sweet jelly buns for 'desert'. They all told me to eat generously, but everything put in my plate was more than I could eat for a whole day.

They had me sleep in Tong's room that night, we laid together in the same bed. Tong had me sleep by the wall so that I wouldn't fall out of the bed. I slept as close to the wall as I possibly could, that way I wouldn't invade his space. And while being so close to the wall, I slipped my mother's slave collar that I hid in my new clothes, between the wall and the bed.

We both stared at each other in the dark room, illuminated by moonlight from outside. "How old are you?" he asked.

My eyes moved away from his, "I don't know."

He quirked a brow as I stared at him. "Well…" he began, "you don't look old, but you don't look like a little kid either." I didn't really get all of it because he was speaking Chinese. "Maybe you're my age."

I yawned quietly and whimpered a little. It was something I did when I yawned. "…maybe."

"Why are your eyes like water?" I looked back up at him with my eyes as he stared at me. I only shrugged as I averted my eyes. He chuckled quietly and grinned at me. "They're like pretty marbles." I stared at him and frowned a little, unsure about how I felt. "Hey," he frowned, "close your eyes for a moment." I quirked a brow at him before closing my eyes. I began to feel nervous when I felt his breath on my lips, making me shut my eyes even tighter. "Chu." He gave me a small peck on my lips. I opened my eyes and stared at him. I began to tremble and I could feel the water rushing to my eyes. He only stared at me in surprise as my breath began to quicken. I sat up and scooted away from him towards the corner of the bed, screeching at the top of my lungs. "Hey! Hey!" As he tried to reach for me, I only screamed even more, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

Doors slid open and Lei Ling and Ling Cao came in with a lit candle. "What's going on?"

"Hudie, are you alright?"

As Ling Cao reached for me, I shook my head and screamed even more at him, trying to stay away as far as possible. I slapped his hands away from me, screaming, "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" I can remember everything that happened the night I was taken away from my father. All the slapping, all the biting, everything that hurt me! "Don't!"

"Lei Ling!" Lei Ling handed the candle over to Ling Cao before climbing onto the bed and grabbing a hold of me

"No! No!" I shook my head as she pulled me into her arms and shushed me. "No…" I cried in her arms as Ling Cao took Tong away with him. I kept shaking my head gently, I just…something triggered inside me. I wanted my mother. I wanted my mother to comfort me. I sniffled and hiccupped quietly as Lei Ling leaned forwards and back continuously and planted soft kisses on my hair. She began to sing softly, a simple Chinese lullaby as I lulled off into a quiet sleep that I didn't have for a long time.

* * *

"Xiao Hudie, I brought you some candied dates." I was walking alongside Lei Ling as we strolled through the market place with Tong behind us.

"Mother, what about me? Don't I get one?" Ling Tong frowned and whined as he carried bags on his back.

"Carrying our things is your punishment for disturbing Hudie last night." Lei Ling frowned at him before pulling me with her. "Xiao Hudie, if you want more candied dates, just tell me, alright?"

I looked up at her before looking away with guilt. "I don't know how to repay your kindness."

I held my head down low until she lifted up my chin. "Just be my filial daughter, alright?" She smiled at me kindly and with expectations. "My daughter does not slump her shoulders, nor does she hold her head low." She straightened her posture and stared down at me with a smile. "My daughter hold her head high with a straight posture with class and dignity."

"But I!" She quirked a brow, surprised at how loud I could be. I looked back at Ling Tong before looking back down at the ground. I frowned sadly before looking back up at Lei Ling. "I have no more dignity…" I bit my lip.

She quirked a brow at me and stared down at me as though I was pitiful. "No one will know if you don't show it." She smiled proudly at me. "In fact, when I married Ling Cao, I had none either. I had no mother and my father didn't want me so no one wanted to marry me. When I was very young, I was taken away by bandits and I endured hardships. Ling Cao saved me and took care of me. When he asked me to marry him, I told him I had no more dignity and he told me, 'a woman's has dignity only when she believes she has dignity. Women shouldn't be ashamed to have been mistreated. Most men are ravenous creatures and women have to pitifully endure their cruelty. Stand back up and show the world how strong you are. Have pride in yourself, that is dignity.'" Lei Ling hummed quietly as she brought me into a dress shop. "That is why I married Ling Cao." She chuckled quietly as she looked through the racks of clothes, pulling out one outfit after another to put against me and test her vision. "Stand tall and straight and look proud. You are a woman, and you endured a horrible hardship. You're still alive and you're still breathing. Show the world how strong you are."

As I straightened my posture and held my head up high, I began to believe that this moment, with Lei Ling, was the most influential moment of my life. I looked down at the clothes she put on me. "Thank you," I said simply. She only smiled back at me in response. I only felt bad because this whole time, they all thought I was Chinese. Perhaps I would be treated differently if they knew I was Miao.

* * *

While Lei Ling haggled with the shop keeper, I walked around and stared at all the little, and big, hair ornaments.

"Try this!" Ling Tong appeared and put a silver jeweled headdress on me. When I turned my head to him, it fell off and his clumsily caught it. I eyed him from the side before looking away nonchalantly, waiting for Lei Ling to come back. "Hey, hey." I looked back to him as he frowned and looked around shyly. "Sorry about last night, I was just curious about how it felt. Here." He held his hand out to me. I looked down at the jeweled hair clip. "I bought this with my own allowance while Mother wasn't looking." He pulled my hand and placed it in my palm. "Just don't tell anyone what I did, alright?" He blushed and walked off.

"Are you ready to go home?" I looked up at Lei Ling as she came back with a smile. "Oh, what a pretty hair clip, would you like me to buy it for you?"

I shook my head at her. "Ling Tong already bought it for me."

"Oh, ho…" She smiled scandalously, "I see, alright then. Let's go home and I'll teach you how to make my famous dumplings."

As we left the dress shop, I never imagine that my life would turn out this way. Lei Ling said that my clothes should be ready to be picked up in a few days. How many runaway slaves can wound up this lucky, even after murdering a Chinese lord?

I learned a lot from the Lings. They taught me how to read and write. Lei Ling taught me how to cook and sew. Ling Cao even taught me martial arts and weaponry.

"Father, Hudie doesn't need to learn how to fight, she's a girl!" Ling Tong frowned as he shifted his weight from one foot over to the other while holding a wooden sword. I only got into a ready position with my own wooden sword pointed at him. A tiny jeweled hair pin glittered at the back of my head.

"Precisely why she should learn how to fight, so that no man will underestimate her. You would want your sister to get taken advantage of, now would you?"

"Ah, I guess I see your point." Ling Tong also took a stance and smirked. "Hudie, are you ready?"

At some point, I learned so much that I began to cook every meal for the family and clean up after them as well. I wanted to take care of them to thank them for taking care of me. Even though they joked with me, and criticized me, I did whatever I could because there was nothing I was more thankful for than being taken in by them. I can never be grateful enough to be welcomed by their warmth.

Years flew by and Tong and I grew up.

"Hudie, are you ready to fight me?"

I only huffed at him before charging with my wooden sword. A tiny jeweled hair pin glittered at the back of my head.

* * *

A/N: Hello there, I just, ahh…I think I took off in a different direction than I expected, but I write as I go, so, I hope you enjoy following up until now. I apologize if you thought this was some sort of slavery kink, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, lol. But the first few chapters are always the dull parts that lead up to the more interesting parts. It's usually introducing the characters, so I hope that you'll find the following chapters after this more interesting.

I have to apologize in advance though. That when I start a new story, I'm so interested in it that I'll write a lot for it and after a while, I start slowly down with my interest in it. But I'll continue to push on! I still have to update the other slashes I have on this site, uwaah! Fighting!

Anyways. Hudie, or Húdié, is Chinese for "Butterfly". Pronounced like WHO-dee-EH. "Hu" is high, and the end of "die" is high. Húdié. I'm not going to put in the accent marked letters because besides it being a lot of work, despite the fact that I can copy and past, I don't know the accent marks for everyone else's names. So from now on, Npaim is going to be known as "Hudie" to the Chinese unless stated otherwise. :)

Thanks for reading.


End file.
